Occidental Petroleum flies to Midland as new CEO takes charge of Permian operations

Occidental Petroleum flew from its Houston headquarters at George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Midland International Air and Space Port on Thursday, June 18, a 78-minute hop aboard its Embraer ERJ-175 (tail N170XY). The company’s employee shuttle makes the trip regularly — six flights in the past three days alone — but this one arrives just after a leadership transition.

The same week Richard Jackson succeeded retiring CEO Vicki Hollub on June 1, Occidental Petroleum is doubling down on the Permian Basin, per a TradingView analysis published this week. Jackson, formerly chief operating officer, inherits a company that sold its OxyChem unit to Berkshire Hathaway for $10 billion and cut principal debt to $13.3 billion, as reported by TIKR.com. Midland sits at the center of Occidental’s production portfolio, where the company expects to bring 460–510 new wells online this year.

The flight pattern underscores the operational rhythm: Houston-to-Midland shuttles move executives and engineers between corporate and field operations. With a new CEO and a balance sheet on the mend, this trip likely signals a hands-on review of the company’s most valuable asset — the Permian acreage that generates the bulk of its 1.4 million barrels of daily production.